


The Day The Planet Went Away

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alderaan feels, Baby Ben Solo, Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Leia Organa Deserves Better, Leia Organa Needs a Hug, Leia Organa-centric, POV Leia Organa, Planet Destruction, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Space Mom Leia Organa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24107566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Leia tells little Ben about Alderaan.
Relationships: Leia Organa & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: Gen Prompt Bingo Round 18





	The Day The Planet Went Away

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Tragedy
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

“Is that Al-Dar-On?” The way Ben said it as he tested out syllables (he was three, after all), it made Leia almost smile at how innocent he sounded — if sadly. He’d spotted the holo of Alderaan on Leia’s desk at home, the city before it had been destroyed with the planet, and now he was curious.   
  
“Yes,” Leia said. “Of course. Alderaan. That was my home planet before it...went away.” She winced internally at the euphemism that she used, but how else did she explain what happened to Alderaan to a three year old?  
  
“Went away?” Ben blinked as he spoke. Somehow, his eyes looked bigger, looking out at her like that.   
  
“Yes,” Leia said.   
  
Ben furrowed his brow a little bit. Leia could already feel her son’s presence, lurking around the edges of her mind, reminding her unsettlingly of Ben having telepathic abilities. She’d have to teach him that some people didn’t like having their thoughts read — if gently. Ben was only three, and children were rarely intentionally malicious. You had to be gentle with them, Leia had learned from Breha and Bail. Teach them the fundamentals of right and wrong without thinking of them as monsters if they failed.   
  
“Angry people were responsible, weren’t they?” Ben said.   
  
Leia nodded. Of course, she doubted that she could call Tarkin “angry". Sadistic, yes. It was simple, really, thinking of him as a one-dimensional evil monster that would wipe out an entire civilization with one order. And Vader wasn’t angry. Indifferent to what was going to happen to Alderaan, most likely — and what was worse, anger or indifference?  
  
“You could say that,” Leia said. “They were angry because the galaxy refused to comply with their demands. Tyrants are like that, Ben. They want to control others, make them too afraid to fight back.”  
  
“Why?” Ben said. “Wouldn’t people go along with them more if they liked them?”  
  
Leia shivered to think of it. “That’s...how it started, from what I read.” Palpatine had apparently been charismatic, affable. How that devolved into the monster Luke talked about who wanted Luke for his own, Leia didn’t know.  
  
“Why?” Ben said. “I wouldn’t kill a planet.”  
  
“There are people who would, Ben,” Leia said. “That’s my job — making sure that someone fights against those people. Keeps them from doing any harm to the galaxy.”  
  
A beat. “Can I be like you and Daddy when I grow up?”  
  
Leia laughed despite herself. She was relieved, at least, to move on to something lighter. “Of course you can,” she said. “A pilot like your Daddy, a protector of the innocent...I would love that, Ben. I truly would.”  
  
Ben grinned. "I’ll be the bestest in the galaxy!”  
  
Leia smiled. Stang, but she did love her son. Sometimes he scared her, but most of the time, she and Han were all but blinded by their utter amazement and love for him. “Whatever path you choose, I guarantee you’ll have a proud Mommy.”


End file.
